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What bank or credit union do you recommend for checking, savings? Not Bank of America nor Citizens Bank.
I'm not adverse to using a "bank" instead of a "Credit Union", and prefer one with feature-rich online services, good security (online and otherwise) and access to both banks and ATMs in the Manchester/Nashua corridor. Having at least fee-free ATMs in Boston, Providence would be a plus, but isn't a deal breaker.
Looks like TD Bank is the biggie, with many branches in S.NH and an August $300 bonus for opening and funding a "Premier" checking account.
Anybody use Santander or Granite State Credit Union? Somebody else I missed entirely?
I dropped BOA years ago and TD Bank is what we have used for a long time now. Obviously it has good availability in southern NH as well as reasonably good coverage in MA and RI, and I like their online account features. A benefit if you travel to Canada much is that you can use the TD Canada Trust ATMs without paying an ATM fee or foreign transaction fee. (Likewise, BOA cards can be used at Banque Scotia/Scotiabank ATMs, fee-free, or at least that used to be the case... sort of a less-obvious pairing.)
TD Bank's product offerings are terrible including international wires (including the exchange rate) and of course if you want to have a savings account there's a lot of requirements.
Service Credit Union I agree is one of the best out here without any fees. I use their business checking as well on top.
I use TD bank. I had them in Florida and I was thrilled to see they had branches in NH (my closest one is in Wolfeboro). They made everything seamless and smooth doing everything I needed for the move. They have every service I could think of needing, the employees are very helpful and friendly in both states, and I do most of my banking online. I have been exceedingly pleased with them.
I have only done international wires from BOA and don't remember much about the experience, but agree to stay away from them with a 100 foot pole for a variety of reasons.
What are the lots of requirements for a savings bank at TD Bank? They have at least 3 options. I admit I'm not even sure what our account falls into now, as options have changed since it was opened. I'm pretty sure it has no requirements at all. I was looking several months ago and noting that there are some much better options (at TD Bank) for our money now, but we haven't made a change. We have checking and savings with them and we've had no issues, they have convenient and pleasant locations. But, they're a big bank and some people don't like that.
I know nothing about Service Credit Union and am not trying to dissuade OP from selecting them, but they appear to have branches almost solely in NH. It looks like even though there are a lot of fee-free ATMs in the Boston area (throughout the "Co-op" Network) you'd have to work at it to find them... they all appear to be in credit unions and places like 7-11 and Dunkin', not at major bank locations. Maybe it's not such a big deal to just have a few in mind and make them your go-to ATMs.
TD Bank's product offerings are terrible including international wires (including the exchange rate) and of course if you want to have a savings account there's a lot of requirements.
Service Credit Union I agree is one of the best out here without any fees. I use their business checking as well on top.
BoA = Stay away from them with a 100 foot pole.
Why? You claim they're bad but offer no reasoning.
I've been using them for many years. 2 checking accounts and a savings, I pay no fees. They have an excellent online bill pay system, and are quick to lock your account when fraud is detected, and easy to work with to recover lost funds.
I made an attempt to try NECU a couple years ago on the online banking was a mess and was never able to actually access their online bill pay system, let alone use it. I pay almost all my bills through BOA's bill pay system. I've checked out the demo's of other banks and CU's, haven't found one that makes me want to switch.
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